Self confessed pictorial history buff, Mr Mulgat, has a massive image database of Esperance and the surrounding region dating back to the late 1800's.

"Some photos I received the other day were on glass negatives from 1905 and when I saw them it felt like I had discovered treasure, they were in such good condition."

Mr Mulgat's interest in recording local history was first sparked many years ago when he was working for the Shire and was the secretary for the Esperance Municipal Museum Management Committee. On the wall of the museum he spotted 5 images, taken back in 1895, which had been stitched together to produce a panorama of the town. He marvelled over this photograph every time he visited the museum, impressed that someone way back then had the forethought to record the town as it was some hundred plus years ago.

"I thought, I should be doing something like that too. I should be going out and collecting whatever photos are around, because if I don't, those precious memories could get thrown out and disappear forever. I thought someone's got to do it, why not me?"

So, Mr Mulgat is on a mission to gather as many old photographs as he can while the people who took them, or their children, are still around to share the stories that accompany them.

"Once we make a digital copy and get a caption on the images they then go into the archives of the Esperance Museum. It's a big job, but we will eventually get them all onto the new computerised system there so that anyone can simply type in a date, name or keyword and straight away the computer will bring up all the images relating to that date or keyword."

Mr Mulgat is right, it is a big job and he does it all voluntarily. So what is it about history that he loves so much?

"Oh, it's just magic to come across things and places as they were so many years ago."

Always on the lookout to increase the collection, Mr Mulgat has found quite often it has been the visitors on holiday to Esperance, especially those from the Goldfields, which have taken the most photos.

"It would be great if those people could get in contact with me. The photos will be copied carefully and returned quickly. I can record photos, slides, negatives, even 8mm and 16mm film footage."

Hear the full interview with Neville via the audio link.

For more information, or to provide images, you can contact Mr Mulgat through the Esperance Museum.

What's the story of that old photograph in your collection? Why don't you share it with us at ABC Open? Find out more information on the website.